Another View: The true price of great holiday deals

11:33 PM,
Dec. 3, 2013

This undated image provided by Amazon.com shows the so-called Prime Air unmanned aircraft project that Amazon is working on in its research and development labs. Amazon says it will take years to advance the technology and for the Federal Aviation Administration to create the necessary rules and regulations, but CEO Jeff Bezos said Sunday Dec. 1, 2013, there's no reason Drones can't help get goods to customers in 30 minutes or less. (AP Photo/Amazon)

Written by

Robert B. Reich

The most important website last weekend and in weeks to come - on which the hopes and fears of countless Americans are focused - is not HealthCare.gov. It's Amazon.com.

Even if and when HealthCare.gov works perfectly, relatively few Americans will be affected by it. Only 5 percent of us are in the private health insurance market to begin with. But almost half of Americans are now shopping for great holiday deals online, and many will be profoundly affected - not because they get great deals, but because their jobs and incomes are at stake.